


The Mirror Shard

by Candid_Chaos



Series: In Which "Byakuran Messes Things Up™" [3]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Byakuran is not done, Gen, Hopefully contains Feels, Kawahira is done, Mysterious Grandma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27453289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candid_Chaos/pseuds/Candid_Chaos
Summary: Kawahira has been minding his own business for some time now, content in seeing that his torch was passed on. That didn’t mean his time wascompletelyover, because apparently the Great Skies won’t stop bothering him!
Relationships: Byakuran & Grandma, Byakuran & Uni | Yuni
Series: In Which "Byakuran Messes Things Up™" [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995772
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. It Started with Kawahira

It had been a strange series of events that had led to him taking residence inside this old antique shop permanently. Originally, it had been a spur of the moment decision to be used to spy (for lack of a better word) on his carefully orchestrated contest for the future generation of Arcobaleno. But even that had been out of a selfish need to witness future events without relying entirely on Wonomichi.

(And perhaps an inherent distrust of his assistant had played into the decision as well)

Regardless, there was little to entertain him nowadays, somewhat by his own design in warding the shop against nearly ninety-five percent of anyone who would walk by. It had seemed like the most prudent thing to do, at the time; use his unmatched Mist flames to create a strong persuasion to avoid the shop, and he wouldn’t be bothered during his spymaster stint.

Several weeks later, lifechanging events concluded, he returned to the shop and tacked on an exception after the events of the Representative Battles concluded fully, vaguely worded as allowing those with “pure” intent to view the shop without the mental fog that the original ward was meant to cause. He’d been half asleep when he did that, but it wasn’t reversible without removing the ward entirely, and he was much too lazy to let that happen.

Though he admittedly had more than enough free time to allow him to remove and replace the ward without being too terribly inconvenienced, but it was the principal of the situation that annoyed him, so that was the end of it.

It had been years by the time something interesting occurred. Color him surprised when Byakuran, of all creatures, waltzed through his doors.

The kid (a human adult, but all of them were children to him), had taken one look at Kawahira’s nonplussed face and scowled like he’s smelled something foul.

The Mare looked around the shop idly, eyes not quite focusing on any one thing, until his gaze fell on Kawahira. “While you are good at _hiding_ ,” he smiled, “I’m good at finding! I mean, you have experience in it, but still! All the trouble I had to go through to find you!”

 _And to think I’d thought the rest of the millennia would be uneventful._ “And to what do I owe the pleasure?” Kawahira smiled passive-aggressively, setting down the knickknack he’d been polishing.

“I’m turning over a new leaf,” Byakuran grinned widely, skipping up to the counter so that their eyes could truly meet in an equally passive-aggressive response.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you, young Mare.” Kawahira stopped himself before he could sigh, letting his smile go crooked instead. “Tsunayoshi complained about your escapades nearly every time he managed to find my shop.”

“Tsuna doesn’t appreciate how much more _exciting_ I make his doldrum-colored life!” Byakuran shouted, an angry pout on his face as he waved his hand about. “I think he secretly appreciates the break from the paperwork.”

 _While that certainly seems exciting, I’ve got better things to do, today. Come to think of it…_ “How exactly did you find my shop, if you don’t mind me asking,” he asked, tone light. “I’ve quite the effort into hiding it, after all.”

Byakuran looked genuinely surprised at that. “Is it supposed to be hidden?” The Mare looked around the shop, seemingly finding nothing, and certainly not noticing the ward that Kawahira was certain still functioned. Its thrum was still echoing in his bones, after all. “It seemed perfectly normal on the outside, and I should know.”

 _Isn’t that interesting. Who would’ve thought that this chaotic Mare would have_ pure _intentions?_

“Besides, I’ve recently decided to turn over a new leaf. Repent for what of my _other selves_ have done, you know,” Byakuran ranted, harshly interrupting Kawahira’s musing thought process.

Maybe slightly annoyed from the interruption (even if the Mare couldn’t read minds, for how could he have known), a terse tone slipped its way into his response. “And how exactly did you plan on doing such a thing while traipsing around my shop?”

“I’ve been looking for a thing you own, not _you_ ,” the kid chuckled, seemingly offended by such a comment. “Uni described it as ‘a mirror that peers into other worlds, the smallest shard of the Mare Sky ring embedded in its handle.’ Got any of that?”

That mirror was one of his oldest possessions, as well, and not something he thought any version of him would ever consider giving to this terribly _active_ generation of Mare. It would probably boost the kid’s power just enough for him to reach a hand into other worlds without ripping himself apart into a ghost- or Ghost. “I don’t think I’m inclined to allow access to more worlds,” Kawahira finally said. “Look what you’ve done to most of them.”

“I am _not_ the others. I…” the kid sighed, looking intensely conflicted, now. Maybe the burden of his legacy was finally sinking into his largely unburdened mind. He looked away from Kawahira, the sparkle in his eyes dimming slightly. “Let’s just say that I’m an anomaly and leave it that, please?”

 _Ah, well, he seems genuine. If that is even possible for a Mare._ “Very well. If you vow to do nothing, intentional or otherwise, to disrupt _any_ Trinisette, I will bequeath the mirror to you,” Kawahira smiled, mind made up. The kid shouldn’t have been able to enter the shop unless he was worthy of such a decision regardless, so perhaps this is was a very special case. _Not to mention that this is probably the only universe I’ve seen fit to do this in,_ he chuckled inwardly.

“I vow _wholeheartedly_ ,” Byakuran grinned widely, jumping up and down like a small child even though the old Mist was vaguely aware of him being in his late twenties at this point.

“Very well,” Kawahira sighed, having had to wait for what seemed like an eternity while the Mare’s enthusiasm dampened to the point where he could leave the counter without worrying about him breaking something _too_ expensive.

He turned from the counter (one eye lingering on the Mare as his grin shifted anxiously) and reached into the old, ragged bag stored beneath the till. This poor thing had seen too many years by now. Not as many as him, of course, but you’d probably be surprised to learn that it was nearly as many, having been purchased during the early years of humanity. Kawahira could still remember the old leatherworker’s look as he’d handed the man a lion’s share of precious gems and metals in exchange, not knowing the prices for such things at the time. A younger him, and a younger him’s mistake, but alas, nothing could be done now.

Musing promptly squashed, Kawahira reached into the Mist-filled bag to produce the mirror. It was a dull and dirty thing, mostly for its own safety against thieves and their ilk. He’d taken to purposefully remembering to _not_ polish the tool every few months, to the point where he was almost sure the grime and dust had formed a cemented sheen over the mirror. He highly doubted the Mare would even be able to use it, at least in this state.

He straightened back up, noting Byakuran’s rigid position in exactly where he’d been when he’d let his eyes off of him _. At least he has the decency to not antagonize me further_. “Now leave. I have so many other waiting customers, you see,” he huffed, setting the mirror onto the counter and pushing it toward the Mare’s eager hands.

And Kawahira waited for the quip about the shop being “oh so bustling, old man,” but it never came, the Mare’s eyes glittering on the mirror gingerly held within his hands like it was hypnotizing him. Oh, maybe it was. Kawahira couldn’t be affected by such artifacts of his past, so he had no idea what its effect would be on the Mare, good intentions or otherwise.

Something shifted in Byakuran’s gaze, a sort of rigid determination and a clenched fist held to the side like a silent prayer for success. The Mare smiled gently, much more so that Kawahira could ever remember it being, and he his voice was wavering and quiet when he finally muttered, “Thank you.”

Then the moment was ruined, a harsh cough from Kawahira breaking the Mare’s dazed state.

Byakuran startled, as if just now realizing the mirror was in his hand, quickly stuffing the old thing into some mysterious jacket pocket. “Goodbye, old man!” He shouted, sprinting out the door so fast that the bell shuddered and fell from its post.

Kawahira sighed, waving a hand idly to replace the bell on its perch as he watched the Mare run off in the distance from the safety of the old shop windows.

 _This was probably a bad decision_ , he mused, idly considering changing the bell’s perch to be more cemented against the door. _Then again, I’m recused from such world matters now._

Well, he would make sure this would be the last any of them or the mafia goons would see him. That was enough for now, and the consequences of that would probably be enough entertainment for the next century.

Placing his favorite hat on his head (it was most certainly _not_ checkered) and long, old coat on his shoulders, he closed the shop, waving a hand to change the sign to read “CLOSED – forever.” A second glance, and he added “Get your kicks elsewhere, Skies.”

He smiled as he made his way across Namimori to the bus stop, pausing to adjust his coat occasionally. Things were about to get a whole lot calmer for him, and a lot more exciting for everyone else. And, well, whatever happened next was _not_ his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Now_ Kawahira’s time is over. He’s booking it out of town, far away from everyone who knows he exists, and making sure to cover his tracks with a healthy dose of Mist.
> 
> You’ll never see him again ;)
> 
> This is a shorty, but it needs a primer for the _actual_ chapter. But please don’t get too excited, it won’t be too terribly long of a main chapter.


	2. It Ended with the Mare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byakuran has obtained the mirror! The secret to his power, the thing that will make him whole! Or maybe something to that effect? This means he can now put his master plan of Making the World Better into action! The question is, "how?"  
> Err… okay, maybe his plan isn’t so thought out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the main chapter!

All the fates of the worlds had been weighing on Byakuran during his trip. Every time he peered even slightly over the parallel horizon it seemed other Byakurans were wallowing in misery. Some of them had tried fighting Tsunayoshi, even knowing of their absolute defeat in the future that never was. Those hims were total _fools_ to attempt such a thing, he figured. That was why he’d decided to be the one to change the tide of the worlds- even if it seemed he was the only one thinking that way, even now.

Of course, none of the other hims really took _this_ him seriously. He was the weakest, he knew that. He’d come into his power a little later than everyone else, and that difference of a few minutes had caused a drastic ripple in causality, diminishing his power to the point where he’d been tempted to bridge the gap with Shoichi’s technology once or twice.

The sky was rusty and dark by the time Byakuran had completed the flight back to the Gesso mansion, thoughts be damned. It had seemed like some sort of omen, even if the trees swaying and the sunset half-covered by dotted clouds made it _seem_ peaceful. But the bad feeling from the blood colored sky lingered on the Mare and his thoughts as he made his way to his office, the mirror feeling heavier in his pockets with each step.

Was this the right course of action? The Arcobaleno representative battles would have been the catalyst to bring him back into line with everyone else on this branch of worlds, but he’d made up his mind about turning over a new leaf of atonement long before the first Tsuna managed to solve the pacifier’s power source conundrum. He couldn’t, in good conscience, _not_ communicate the solution to Checkers.

 _Then again,_ Byakuran mused as he made his way through the mansion, _most of the others didn’t seem to share his definition of a conscience._

He was absolutely exhausted from his thoughts by the time he sat down in the chair; at that point, the mirror had become a bowling ball’s worth of mental baggage.

It was strange to feel so out of sorts over something so… trivial. Maybe his façade of being the “big bad” was starting to crack?

Pushing that disturbing train of thought aside for later, he set the mirror down on the desk, a small fog of dust puffing upward with the sudden movement. The bastard hadn’t ever seen fit to clean the thing, it seemed.

 _This is so bad it seems intentional,_ Byakuran mused as he ran a finger through the dust. He found his patience waning even more when his finger didn’t seem to pierce the shell of disuse, removing the topmost layer and little else.

Well, this wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Shoichi!”

The door slammed open almost instantly, Shoichi barging inside so quickly that he slid as he stopped on the carpet, nearly pitching sideways as the fabric ruffled. He caught himself just in time, however, though he was sorely out of breath, gulping down oxygen heavily.

“Byak… uran!” Shoichi gulped, the air finally re-entering his lungs. “I thought… we settled this… _issue_!”

Byakuran raised an eyebrow quizzically. “What issue? Oh, you already know what I’ve called you for?”

“ _No_ ,” Shoichi groaned, rubbing a hand along his face. “I _meant_ calling me from this room! You _know_ that your office is about as far away from my lab as you can get in this building. You’re lucky I saw you come back on the cams and ran straight here.”

“…Really?”

Shoichi glared at him without answering, to the point where his face even got a little red. Well, he was really trying a little too hard to look menacing.

“Anyways,” Byakuran continued, ignoring the ongoing record attempt for longest glare, “I need you to clean this mirror. It’s kind of dirty.”

Shoichi took one exasperated look at the thing and tossed a solution from within his coat onto it, not even bothering to be gentle or avoid splashing it on Byakuran’s desk or lap. The grime and dust all but instantly melted off.

…Byakuran’s wild grin was making him regret his actions a little.

“If that’s _all_ ,” Shoichi struggled out, already halfway out the door for fear of retaliation, “I was in the middle of something.”

Byakuran chuckled as the door slammed shut. _What a man._

~ ~ ~

After the first week of spending day and night obsessing over the mirror, little had happened besides Shoichi showing up a few times to check in, worried that nothing had exploded yet. Byakuran was disappointed that nothing had exploded as well, so they were kindred spirits on that front, he figured.

The second week saw nothing eventful as well… except a _slight_ mental break. Could you blame him if he’d gotten frustrated and tossed the thing into the stratosphere, expecting it to shatter into pieces and restore his sanity in the process? The mirror had fallen back down with a great and echoing boom, totally intact and shattering what was left of the driveway (and his mental stability for that week) instead.

It was the final night of the third week before he found his clue, much like a light shining in the darkness. He’d gotten so frustrated that he’d retired to his bedroom, sequestering himself into a fortress of marshmallow-shaped pillows. (No, Shoichi, pillows are _not_ already marshmallow shaped! That had taken a master seamstress to remedy!) And much like a light shining in the darkness of his bedroom, there… was a light shining in the darkness of his bedroom.

Byakuran had almost fallen asleep when he’d turned his head and noticed the pitiful light, not moving at first since he’d assumed it to be one of those sleep paralysis demons or something. But when it didn’t move or attempt to eat him, he’d realized the little fact that he was still wide awake and thus this couldn’t be a dream demon.

The resulting mad scramble to the light had put several marshmallow pillow shaped holes into his bedroom walls and contaminated the air with feathers, but he’d discovered the source! It was… the mirror! It was a slow and sluggish glow, kind of like glow-in-the-dark paint a few hours after the lights had gone off. Of course, his terrible luck meant that the moment his hand made contact with the surface, the glow faded so quickly that Byakuran almost questioned if it had ever been there. It had been, of course, but could this mean?

Maybe it was time for a quick visit to Giglio Nero.

~ ~ ~

“It’s important!” Uni insisted, turning the mirror over in her hands.

Normally, this visit would be pleasant. He loved hanging out with Uni, the innocent and endless source of mischief that she ended up being when she was grown fit well his whole Mare shtick. This being an abnormal visit, the usual air of satisfaction did not color his view this time, and he found himself fidgeting in his chair as Uni continued to gaze excitedly at the mirror.

“That doesn’t help me, dear Uni,” Byakuran grinned, hiding his annoyance. “I need something more than that to figure out what it _does_.”

She set the mirror down on the desk, tilting her head quizzically at him. “What it does? Um… I’m not sure.”

“Uhuh.” Byakuran channeled Shoichi’s new record breaking glare talents as he looked at her. His fidgeting and finger tapping were starting to get so obvious that even Uni had picked up on it, now, and he was running out of things to do to channel his annoyance away from the poor girl.

“It’s- Um…” She fidgeted in the chair, looking to Gamma for support but finding him… occupied. He was attempting to not pay attention by very obviously starting at the empty corner of the room. “Okay, _fine_ ,” she relented, the lack of usual Gamma support breaking her. “My visions are being particularly cloudy about it. I’m not actually _sure_ , per se, of what it does.”

The resulting full-force face palm had Gamma snatching Uni and booking it, leaving Byakuran alone with his thoughts and a pile of splinters in place of a desk.

~ ~ ~

Another week and repaired desk later, he was done. Absolutely, totally, _done_.

The mirror remained as the thing that does absolutely nothing, and he was fresh out of ideas to the point where he was seriously considering letting _Verde_ ,of _all_ _people,_ experiment on the damn thing. Then again, he would probably never get it back if the former Arcobaleno managed to figure out a use for it, so that was a Bad Idea.

 _The capital letters are warranted_ , Byakuran mused, tapping the mirror absentmindedly. _The world might end if Verde-_

 _Ah!_ The mirror shone so brightly he shrunk in on himself on reflex, hands held desperately over his eyes. The light was so strong that it burned itself deep behind his vision by the time it faded, so all-encompassing that his vision swam with colorful shadows. 

The resulting half-blindness had Byakuran more than pissed off. The mirror was just messing with him now! 

Which is what he _thought_ , until a hoarse and entirely too cheery voice pierced his anger with a loud, “Hello!”

The darkened light shadows did not help Byakuran as he scrambled for the mirror. Though its blinding shine was gone, a new light now pierced its sheen, the silhouette of an unfamiliar old woman now covering its surface.

“Hello there, young man!” the stranger smiled, grin impossibly wide. “What are you doing with this mirror, if I may be so bold as to ask?”

 _Who…?_ “Checkers gave it to me, old woman,” Byakuran frowned. This was not at all what he was expecting. He’d never seen the woman before, and none of the other hims had either. He noticed a couple of the others were now watching him, gaze drawn by such a strange oddity, and that made him more uncomfortable than anything else in this ordeal had. 

The old woman held up a placating hand, as if sensing the increased number of spectators. “I’d appreciate a smaller audience,” _How did she pick up on that!? “,_ but what can we do, eh? You’re a Mare, right?”

“And how do you figure that?” Byakuran startled. He was tempted to check that he hadn’t accidentally passed on the role of the Mare Sky, but that was a ridiculous notion. 

“I’m what you could call your predecessor, the head of the Cervello.” She smiled.

Now that she said it, he could see some resemblance. Then again, he’d never seen a Cervello that didn’t look like they were perpetually young, so one could not be so sure. Wait, _predecessor_? Did that mean…

“You’re the Mare before _me_?” he asked disbelievingly. Then again, he’d never known the legacy of the Mare like the others had. It didn’t seem like there was the same sort of cohesion Uni or Tsunayoshi had with their predecessors. 

“Maybe!” She grinned again. “We’ve never met, not in any world I’ve seen! That seems like a real M.O. for Mares; we never seem to exist around the same time! And I _know_ the rings sat for quite a while before I found them.” Then she turned, as if talking to someone just off to the side, before turning back and smiling _again,_ but this one was a little more… creepy. “That’s a good point, you never answered how you got the mirror. Kawahira promised to keep it _away_ from any Mares that came after it.”

 _Oh, that’s a juicy bit of knowledge._ “And why would he do that? He gave it to me himself; I certainly didn’t have to steal it,” he chuckled. Not that he could have; He knew better. 

The old woman’s grin finally broke at that, a carefully held neutral look taking over instead. “It gives a Mare the solution to the greatest weakness of our legacy, and _that is dangerous_ ,” she said slowly. “To communicate with other timelines and realities where you do not exist, that is the one gap in our power.”

Byakuran was _ecstatic_. The possibilities for that were endless! All the gaps in his knowledge stemming from worlds where the Mare was different enough from being him that the link between them was broken- that was a treasure trove, literal and figurative. What couldn’t-

“And that is why Kawahira _promised_ ,” she interrupted his thoughts purposefully. “Me- the _we_ me, I mean- are pacifist on the average, so Kawahira didn’t mind too much. But I’ve never actually been able to use the mirror until now. You’re the very first!”

“I’m flattered,” Byakuran grinned. Then he remembered the source of his intentions, and the grin rapidly went lopsided. “I’m trying to… atone. For what some of the others have done to the worlds and my friends.” She had to have understood that, being another Mare. For all the potential of absolute good the power of the Trinisette held, there was so much more bad.

And she did, it seemed, a faraway look on her face. “I see. Tell you what, we can do a nice and easy thing. One ‘good deed’ to get you started,” she suggested. “I’m fairly sure I’m in the past from your perspective. Anything you’d want to change? Even the smallest alteration can cause world ending disasters,” and now her grin was going maniacal. Was she truly a pacifist?

That left him thinking for a bit, the first and probably only good thing he’d been responsible for in the worlds came to mind. “The Arcobaleno.”

She made a disbelieving huff, clearly not liking even the mention of them. “Those babies? What about them?”

“I have a solution to their curse,” he smiled. There _was_ the small issue of how he’d basically just copied the plans to a sheet a paper without comprehending them; he was fairly confident in his remarkable ability to _not_ be able to remember the intricacies of the vessels. “…I’ll get Shoichi to draw up the plans for you,” he quickly added.

Though her grin remained lopsided, Byakuran could tell she was genuine when she realized the insinuations from such a thing. “Well,” she clapped her hands together, “you’ll have changed something fairly big. I vow to spread the plans everywhere where you cannot reach. We’ll have covered most, if not all, of the universes with that.”

It was then that Byakuran’s “betters” (he did not call them that, but the other hims certainly relished in the enforcement of the title) decided to remind him of their presence. Ever since he’d come into this power, he’d found that the longer someone eavesdropped on his reality, the more all encompassing his headaches became.

They’d been nosing about the conversation for so long that he could feel a vein nearly splitting on his forehead, the beginnings of what would probably become a migraine hot on its heels. None of the others seemed to share the same issue with the power. It was just part of his curse as being the weakest of them, probably.

 _They deserve to be ignored if they keep giving me migraines on purpose_ , he thought bitterly, turning his attention back to the seemingly very patient old woman.

“I don’t doubt you have more big plans,” she said gingerly, probably channeling a bit of misery of her own, “but try thinking a little smaller? A single person, for example.”

A fair point. Byakuran stewed over the possibilities of his big “Good Deed” once more, thinking about everyone he knew. There were very few people he cared about, honestly. Even fewer who he thought were truly unhappy with the course of events. All but… “Tsunayoshi,” he finally spits out. He’d never wanted his title, bitterly defying his hitman tutor even to the very last second until his formal induction as the ~~tenth~~ Neo Primo. “The Vongola line in Japan,” He clarifies at the quizzical look on his ancestor’s face. “Could you… watch over them?”

“Ah, I’m aware of them,” she sighs, one eyebrow raised. “What could you possibly-”

But before the conversation can continue, the connection flickers, the portal switching back to being a proper mirror for a fraction of second. Again, and again, until it finally stabilizes for a short time, a slight buzzing now emanating from within.

“I promise to,” the old woman says quickly as she fades back into view, now fearing the connection being severed entirely. Their eyes managed to meet again through the reflective static, her gaze going sharp and his going soft; a strange contrast. “We’ll chat more later.”

Byakuran nodded, one hand upward in a short wave, the most either could manage before the mirror shuddered in his hand and went dark.

The only face to talk to now was his own; not that he’d be doing that. Contrary to popular belief, he was _not_ a fan of talking to himself.

~ ~ ~

He’d only just had the plans for the vessels delivered from Shoichi when the old woman “called” him on the mirror, the surface flashing incessantly until he’d touched its surface. The connection didn’t hold for long that time; they’d barely managed to walk each other through the plans when it cut abruptly.

“Not even time for goodbye,” Byakuran had groaned.

The next chat they’d managed to make connect had them fast friends, complaining about their other selves for what seemed like an hour. He’d pouted when she’d refused to share her name, insisting he keep to same standard, though he’d insisted on giving her some sort of name. She’d cheekily responded to that by asking him to call her Grandma, and he’d been all too happy to comply with that sarcastic request.

 _Grandma_ had little else to say in their conversations after that. Byakuran had been too wary of the timeline to attempt any further changes, instead starting every discussion with a short discussion on possible changes in the old woman’s world.

“I’ve told you a million times now, kid,” she had groaned, “I can’t push things along until Kawahira decides to. The answer will always be ‘No’ until something big happens, and considering how it usually goes for me, I don’t think I’ll be around for such an event.”

That had led to an uneasy conversation on what they’d wanted to accomplish in their lives, which Byakuran decided to politely recuse himself from almost immediately.

By the tenth conversation, Grandma refused to let him ask about the changes, smiling and asking him to believe in the future instead. That was just too cliché, he often chuckled to himself, so he kept asking anyways.

~ ~ ~

It had been a full year before Byakuran had relented, finding himself fresh out of ideas to better the world via timeline destruction. He shared as much with Grandma, and as usual, she’d been a paragon of ideas.

“Easy. Give me one big change you would have wished happened to yourself,” she said, ever the wise old woman. “You’ll find that it’s easier if you put yourself into the situation.”

That was a can of worms he’d been avoiding since he’d first gotten the rings, honestly. No one had ever stopped and asked him if he’d wanted the power of the Mare, though even if they had he would have accepted it anyways at that age. It took years before the magnitude of such a power really sank in. The whole point had been to stand out against the rest of the populace, the one thing he’d never really done. His life to that point had been eccentric, sure, but exceedingly mediocre, marred with orphanages and a general lack of friends. That kind of an upbringing left you with a wanderlust tinged the same color as megalomania.

He’d never even been sure if the power to see between worlds was a result of accepting the Mare role or being destined for it. If it were the latter, he would never have seen peace regardless; the other hims would have tormented him to the point of insanity for sport.

There was no one else for the part, he supposed. Sure, one of him had been the smartest idiot to take it to its extreme and attempt universal domination, but that was the worst that it could get. What were the odds that someone a bit less unhinged would do better?

The only other people he knew that could even stomach the role would be the other Great Skies. He couldn’t possibly vet the entire world for someone as generous as Uni or as selfless as Tsunayoshi. They were probably the only ones he knew that would be able to resist the temptation that came with the package, but they held their own destinies as the other two parts of the Trinisette already.

“All but being chosen as the Mare,” he finally said. “But I… I don’t think anyone else to take the title would have been better.”

“That’s the rub there, isn’t it? Our destinies set in stone when we’re born, no choice in the matter,” Grandma sighed, looking at him softly through the mirror. The subject seemed to be a sore one with her as well.

He scoffed at that, long since refusing to believe in destiny. There were a few things that never seemed to change, but he refused to attribute it to anything of that sort. It was far more likely he just wasn’t looking far enough to the side on the parallel axis.

Come to think of it, maybe… maybe that was the answer. If his birth was already too late, then all they’d have to do was do something before then!

“You’ve given me the best idea to change the world, _Granny_ ,” he teased, entirely too chuffed about his brilliant idea to care that he might be annoying her. “It’s a pretty wild idea, but listen closely…”

~ ~ ~

“This’ll be the final time I see you, kid,” Granny croaked.

Byakuran hadn’t been born a fool, but he had been raised by one, so he knew the signs. She was old. An _incredibly_ old woman, by his estimates, even if the variance in the timeline made things a bit fuzzy. Their conversations had been getting steadily shorter, her breaths shorter.

The very notion that she’d refused to admit such a thing to him until now had stung a little.

A terse and ragged cough interrupted his thoughts. “I know you’re smart, so you’ll have figured it out by now. I was already a very old woman when we first met, and now I’m _slightly_ older!” She grinned, pausing to let out a small sigh. “I’ve followed your big plan exactly, and my heir will receive the rings on my passing; the Cervello have promised me that much.”

He refused to look at her as he muttered a quiet, “But…”

Granny had probably noticed his inability to make eye contact by now. It… hurt to.

And she had, because she huffed at him angrily. “Don’t ‘but’ me, young man!”

He couldn’t help it. He’d never had family, and their conversations had turned that nagging feeling in his heart into what he’d imagined having real family felt like. That was his flaw; being the weakest in power meant he was also the weakest in emotions. Now was not the time for regret, he knew that, but… “What about all the changes that we’ve done together? Everything we’ve talked about, enacted together- it might all amount to _nothing_.”

But she wasn’t having that, not on what would be their final conversation, so she’d grinned ear to ear and held the mirror close to her face as if there were a great secret to share. “But they might amount to _everything,_ ” she chuckled. “Changing the future is not an exact science!”

He couldn’t argue with that. “Anything could happen,” he agreed, a smile creeping itself back onto his face.

“There’s your smile, kid. I’d been wondering where it left to,” she teased. But their conversation by then had been going too long, and the mirror began to buzz. They’d long since found that was a sure sign the connection was wearing thin, thus the end was fast approaching.

“No time for goodbyes, but if you’ll let me, I’ll give one anyways,” he grinned widely, shoving his emotions deep into the pit of his psyche to keep from wavering. “Thanks for the company, Granny.”

“Oh, kid, you’ve been so much fun to talk to,” she laughed heartily, matching his smile with a beaming one of her own. “No goodbyes, only ‘see you later’s. That’s all I’ll ever give you. Fair?”

“Fair,” he agreed, as she severed the connection with a smile.

~ ~ ~

Byakuran promised himself that he would be patient.

Changes to the timeline took time to propagate, or at least he hoped. It would be far too much effort to check into Granny’s timeline without her presence there to simply tell him how things were going. That was much easier than brute forcing the mirror’s connection, something he’d managed only one time by accident when his emotions were running high and he’d been bitter about… several things at the time.

So, he decided he would wait ten years, for the anniversary of Granny’s… last conversation. By that time, if the changes weren’t drastic enough, they probably wouldn’t ever be. He’d stash the mirror in the safest part of the mansion for the time between, forbidding Shoichi access to it so that he wasn’t tempted, and wait patiently.

He had faith that _something_ would happen. There’s no possible series of events he could think of where the world could self-correct so many changes over a small timespan. The changes would most certainly change that world’s direction, for good or for bad.

And then _,_ he decided, if his efforts to change the world for better or worse bore fruit… Well, he could die happy, knowing he’d atoned.

It was more about the trip than the destination, Granny had said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an honest attempt at a redemption for the marshmallow boy. 
> 
> He's trying his best here, ya know? Cut him some slack.


End file.
